The Advent
by MyForbidden
Summary: From left field. I love David's character. A story that takes place after 'the Return'. Formally called "The Redemption"
1. Chapter 1

-Kill me. Please…-

He watched as she struggled, covering her face in despair. She wept and He almost felt bad for her- she was so torn inside that He very nearly shared the pain.

She saw two choices- give in or turn away. Both paths were difficult, both had good and bad consequences. It was a matter of choosing the one that was ultimately the best for all parties involved. To turn away meant she saved her soul, at least for another day. To give in meant she saved her friends and perhaps the world, at least for now. Who knew what would happen down the road- she could end up just like her adversary, cold and amoral. But crushing him now would solve a few problems, both present and future ones.

Long moments passed, and the pathetic little figure of her quarry pleaded for her to end his life. He could barely contain His anxiety; He saw a third choice, one she had not even considered yet. He only hoped she would finally see it and make the choice. Her reputation was not generally known for forethought but as she sat, He had hope. She only needed time…

Finally, her shuddering stopped. Her hands pushed her golden hair from her face, wiped the frustrated tears from her cheeks. She gave her cornered prey a long lingering look and then turned her eyes upward.

"Ellimist?" she called in a sad, tired voice.

He could have raised an eyebrow. As if He were somewhere that was "up" for her to actually see. As if He was a god in some sort of astral heaven. Still, His heart soared.

"I know you hear me." She got to her feet. "Take him. You have as much right for revenge as us." A lie, but He appreciated it. She needed an excuse, even if they both knew it was false. "Kill him, erase him, I don't care. I just need him gone."

As if to punctuate her statement, she turned her back and began to walk away. And yet, she paused, taking no chances.

He wanted to smile. _Go home, Rachel_, He said.

She gave a shaky sigh and walked away, her steps becoming more confident the further she went. Soon she would rejoin her comrades, confident that she'd served her purpose. Get rid of the threat, do what no one else could do. Later perhaps she would not be so lucky, but for now, she had escaped an ugly future.

-Oh god, please!- he called, only to be ignored. His wails became louder and more desperate, deranged and insane. He was afraid, afraid that he would be trapped again, for He certainly had the power. The cornered one had seen His most powerful Rival and knew that They were evenly matched in will and strength. It was the choices They made that would ultimately win the war, but that was too much for his comprehension.

-Just kill me. End it!- he pleaded, even as his body began to shift and change, elongating and growing back into a shape it knew quite well.

_You feel it don't you?_ He asked. _Or felt it before? Does it frighten you?_

The boy trembled, curling into a ball.

_I will bring you home now. And these things you feel, your family will help you deal with them. You will be overcome and lost, but they will find you and set you right again. _

He picked up the boy, sending a wave of sleep over him. A small, dark spot in His metaphorical heart cleared as He carried him away. Long ago, this pawn had been stolen and turned- now he would go back to his rightful place, where he should have been before the Crayak had spirited off with him.

The Ellimist sighed and turned his course.


	2. Chapter 2

Ali tug her toes in the sand, pouting. She didn't want to go home- her sister Sonni wasn't there and her friend Kyr was off with her dad on some trip. All in all, Ali was left to spend the night home with her mom, who she'd had another fight with that morning. She couldn't really remember what they'd fought about, which meant it was probably not important and she felt horrible about it. Not horrible enough to apologize, but enough to feel a bit embarrassed about it.

The sun was setting. It was after five o'clock. Her mom hated it when she was on the beach after hours, but it was the only time Ali could actually go and enjoy herself. The summer people clogged the boardwalk and the sand during the day- it gave her a claustrophobic feeling and overwhelmed her receptions. More than once, Ali wished she had been born a _kyns_, like Tyrce, but fate had given her other abilities.

"You are quiet," Ash, her walking partner, remarked.

"I didn't want to ruin the mood," Ali lied, bending down for a moment to pick up a shell. It was a nice pinkish cream color that reminded her of Sonni's old wallpaper.

"Is it something you want to talk about?"

"No," Ali answered simply, discreetly rolling her eyes. For an android, Ash was certainly intuitive, more so than the other Chee. Then again, none of them spent as much time around humans and the Aelar as she did.

"It's quiet," Ali whispered. "I like it when it's quiet." She wished it was winter again, when all the tourists were back at their own hometowns and in school. True, she'd be in school too, but the town would be far less busy.

"Well, the boardwalk is pretty far away."

"If you want to go back, you can," Ali told her.

Ash shook her head. It looked real, but Ali knew that underneath the holo, her movements were much more stiff and far less human. "If your mother sees you come home by yourself, she will be angry."

"She'll be angry either way." Ali sat down, scraping little designs with the shell in the sand. Ash sat down next to her, copying her movements with a stick. They could have been schoolmates to the untrained eye- two tallish, skinny fourteen year olds, dressed in fairly fashionable beach clothes with no make up, and cute faces and hair. Ash was actually a ridiculously old canine-like android, enough to have helped man discover fire, and brought to Earth by an ancient, extinct alien race. Ali herself was not from Earth either, though she'd not been born on her actual home planet.

Ishn was a planet completely taken over by a race called the Hersht and had long been abandoned by Ali's people, the Aelar. It existed somewhere out of charted space- the Chee supposed that it was probably beyond Kelbrid territory, which meant that even the Andalites didn't have Ishn on any of their maps. The Aelar were also an unknown to the Chee and the Andalites, their crash landing on Earth thirteen years ago had been quite a surprise for the ancient androids, as was their anatomic and genetic similarity to humans. Comparisons between the two species had shown that their DNA was nearly 99.99 percent identical.

That .01 percent was the difference that identified Ali as Aelar and not human. She had the same organs but with extra glands and hormones. Her brain was the same size but used over 15 percent more potential than a normal human's 10. Her people had over twice the life expectancy but less than half the reproductive success. And their technology rivaled the Chee's own, which is how they got so far out of their own territories in the first place.

They were a scholarly race, having passed the violent phase that their human 'cousins' were just now slowly starting to grow out of. Most of their interests paralleled the Chee's; most of it was bent on chronicling their discoveries in space or on their planet. Ali had heard stories that the Aelar had actually been on the brink of proving that they had been placed on Ishn by some other alien race- there was no evidence that they had evolved from any natural creatures on their own planet.

Their studies had been abandoned- now they were working with the Chee to watch and subtly trump the advancing Yeerk invasion. Progress was slow and extremely careful; there was a hormone in the Aelar's brains that allowed Yeerks to live without Kandrona rays. Combined with the extra brain activity and the extra abilities it allowed, if any Yeerk got a hold of an Aelar, they would be more than a match for any Andalite.

That was why no Aelar traveled around alone. That was the reason the Chee and their Aelar allies were documenting all the Controllers and related persons in a closed system database in the underground facility that the Chee had built for themselves hundreds of years before. It was imperative that the Yeerk movement never find out that there were any sort of super-humanoid alien race hiding on the planet- the consequences would be catastrophic.

Ali was a type of Aelar called a _tsi_, which mean that her brain's natural intuition was so advanced that she actually felt another living organism's emotions. _Tsi_ were more common then the other two types of Aelar, the _kyns_ or the _psen_. _Psen_ were like _tsi_ except instead of emotions, they actually heard thoughts and projected their own to communicate with one another. _Kyns_ were people who were telekinetic and could move things without touching them- only about three out of ten Aelar were born a _kyns_.

There were so many bedtime stories and documented cases about humans having similar abilities had led both the Chee and the Aelar concluding that perhaps this was once the home planet of the Aelar themselves. Somehow, hundreds of thousands of years ago, the primitive human ancestors had been transported to Ishn, and had been allowed to evolve on their own. That the two species had ended up so similar was an evolutionary miracle and it was something that was almost certainly improvable.

One _kyns_ Aelar would be a devastating force in the Yeerk arsenal, a pure weapon that never needed bullets and could hit multiple targets at once. A _psen_ would be even more deadly, able to enter the very minds of their enemies on a whim and able to communicate over far distances. And since most Aelar were not one type exclusively, any one of them could be two or even all three abilities for the price of one body.

Ali had lived on Earth for all but one human year of her life. She'd been born in space and didn't remember the crash that had landed about fifty of her people on this remote planet. There were nearly sixty of them now in their small community on the eastern coast of the United States. They shared their new home with the Chee and the few pacifist Controllers who had abandoned the Yeerk cause for a symbiotic lifestyle.

"It is getting dark," Ash whispered, breaking the long silence. "I should take you home."

"I don't want to go home."

"It's almost dinner time."

"Not hungry."

"Teenagers are always hungry."

Ali couldn't argue with her because she actually was hungry. It was her absolute loathing for her home that overrode her stomach's protests. And besides, Ash was older than the pyramids, so Ali couldn't exactly say that she didn't have some idea of what she was talking about.

"If I go home, I'm not talking to her," Ali said stubbornly. Ash stood up, helped the girl to her feet and wisely didn't ask who 'her' was. It was just as well because Ali didn't want to elaborate on the subject. Really.

"I mean, I yelled at her and she's probably still angry at me anyway. I bet she's so mad she didn't even make me dinner." Ali knew that she was being completely unreasonable but couldn't bring herself to care.

They started walking and Ali let herself stray into the surf. The cold water felt good on her ankles, except when a slimy bit of seaweed lodged itself between her toes. She had to stop and kick at it for a second.

"What is that?" Ash asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Ali asked, preoccupied with the seaweed. After a few minutes, she finally had to bend down and pull it off with her fingers. When she stood up straight, she was just in time to see Ash wander away, looking at something up the beach.

Ali trotted up next to her and caught sight of the thing Ash had pointed out before. There was a dark lump lying in the surf, barely more than a shadow in the dimming sunlight. A few feet closer and the thing actually began to look like a person. Ali sped up and overtook Ash, not stopping until she reached whoever it was.

It was a kid her own age. "Omigosh! He's passed out or something!" Ali reached out and pulled him so he was off his side and on his back instead. He was covered in wet sand, from his dirty blond hair to the tee shirt and shorts he was wearing, and his brown eyes were open, staring off into space. Ali stood up in a rush, shocked.

Ash came up behind her and instantly knelt down to feel the kid's neck. "He's alive."

"He doesn't look it," Ali whispered, kneeling down again. She reached out again, but this time, mentally. "He doesn't feel alive either." She felt nothing from him- a void, like he was an android like Ash. Well, not exactly, because there was a sense of life in him, but there was no emotion. There was nothing.

"We should get him to the base," Ash said quietly.

Ali blinked and looked at her, "Wouldn't a hospital be better?"

"He's in the system," Ash whispered, pulling the kid up over a shoulder. "Let's get to Rhys' house- he's the closest."

Ali's jaw dropped but she scrambled up to follow the Chee, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. There was a group of laughing college students surfing on the sandbar but other than that, the sand was deserted. Just in case, she let her shields down a bit and felt her way up and down- no one else and none of the surfers were at all interested in them.

"Should I call my mom?" Ali asked. Ash nodded and Ali dug into her shorts pocket for her cell.

Ali dialed the number with shaking fingers (this was big!) and nibbled a nail nervously as they made their way up the beach. Wet sand gave way to dry and soon they were among the grass, the phone ringing in her ear.

"Hello?" her mom's voice said tiredly on the other end.

"Mom, can you come Rhys' house? Like now?" Ali asked.

"Why, what happened?" Her mom sounded irritated, obviously thinking this was about something ordinary but Ali didn't feel like yelling at her for it.

"We found something on the beach and Ash asked me to call you."

That got her mom's attention. "What kind of something?" She kept her voice irritated, but Ali could tell she'd gotten the message.

"We aren't sure. We're gonna look it up on the Net."

"Can it wait until after dinner?" Man, her mom was really playing the part well.

"Well fine, don't come then!" Ali hung up the phone and said, "She'll probably be here in like a half hour." Rhys' house was just a block off the beach and usually the top apartment was rented out during the summer. Luckily, it was empty for another week.

"Anyone coming?" Ash asked.

"I don't feel anything. I don't think anyone's watching."

They both quickly scaled the wooden path that led between the dunes and to the street. Ali jumped down the stairs, running ahead to see how busy the main street was. Ash followed, staying close to the nearest house.

"Sok!" Ali called. Both made a dash for it across the street and down the sidewalk until they got to the tiny in-between alley that most people used to park their cars and wash all the sand off after being on the beach. They made their way past the stall and into the third house in- Rhys' house.

Rhys was in the kitchen, frowning at them as they passed. Ali ran straight for the basement door, opening it up so Ash could go down first. "My mom's coming. I dunno if she'll come through here or not," she said, following Ash. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rhys move to the backdoor, checking to see if they were followed.


	3. Chapter 3

Greol Shytra waited impatiently as the elevator lowered deeper into the ground. The part of her that was Gretchen Shields, widow and mother of three children was seething. Her daughter had been on the beach after hours (again!), and was definitely old enough to know better. She wasn't sure how she'd punish Ali yet, but she was sure she'd think of something later.

The part of her that was Greol, unofficial leader of the Aelar, was worried and downright excited about her daughter's phone call. Whoever, whatever, they had found on the beach was already in the database. Was it some sort of alien life form? A rogue Controller? Maybe it was actually one of those guerilla humans from out west- not likely but Greol dreamed of actually meeting and talking to one of them.

The elevator stopped and opened up to the floor of the complex that was dubbed the infirmary. Greol stepped into the white hallway and walked determinedly forward. There were doors and tinted glass windows lining the hallway, echoing the architecture of the human hospitals on the surface. The first three pairs were empty and dark. She passed them and around the corner into the next hallway, finding it too abandoned. After a pause at a junction, she turned right and found that one of the scan rooms was lit and made her way to it quickly.

The scan room was actually divided down the middle by observation glass- the inner half was for the patient and scanning equipment, the outer was for the computers that actually controlled the scanners. The Chee named Ash was in the inner room, delicately placing sensors on their patient in the bed. She had a frown on her holo face and Greol could tell she was a bit worried.

"He's hooked up," Ash called, stepping away from the bed and walking to the doorway. "Hello, Greol."

"I came as quick as I could. I had something in the oven," Greol said, stepping up beside the other Chee present, called Ree. Ree was working on the scanner's computer, typing away w/ only a slight wave to acknowledge that he knew she was there. He was one of the few Chee who rarely left the base, preferring to stay amongst the equipment and the dog sanctuary they kept here. Greol wasn't sure if she'd ever seen him with a holo on, but she knew him instantly, having lived along side him for so long. "What have we got?"

"His name is David," a voice answered to her left. Greol's own daughter Ahrya, called Ali when they were around humans, was sitting on top of a counter on the wall opposite the computer and observation glass. In her lap was a laptop specially programmed with the Chee's Yeerk database. "Oh my gosh…"

"What is it?" Greol forgot her anger and went to look over her daughter's shoulder at the screen. She saw a picture of a boy maybe a year younger than her daughter, smiling next to what must be his parents, though she saw very little resemblance between the three.

"He's one of those kids. You know, on the west coast? The ones who met Elfangor?" Ali said, pointing to the writing. It was written in the Aelar alphabet; in the highly unlikely case that any Yeerk got their hands on any of the portable databases, they wouldn't be able to translate it before the Chee or their allies got it back.

It certainly seemed so at first, until she read the part that stated he wasn't actually part of the original five. He was technically an involuntary recruit of sorts, his parents infested over a year ago after the boy accidentally found an escafil device. According to the file, he'd been rescued by the guerillas.

His file also labeled him as "extremely dangerous", "violent", and "deeply sociopathic", as well as going on to say that he was highly intelligent, resourceful, and unpredictable. It told the story of his induction into the group of morphing humans and also of his betrayal of them, which led to his eventual entrapment and rumored death. There was an outstanding warrant for his capture, both by the Yeerk empire and the Andalite Allied Resistance.

"You found him on the beach?" Greol asked, astounded.

Ali nodded. "Just lying in the surf. It was like out of a movie or something, like he'd just washed up on the shore. He's alive, but-" the girl glanced at Ree and Ash, who were talking quietly together about results up on their screen. "I don't feel anything from him. No emotions, nothing. It's like he doesn't have a mind anymore."

It's probably just as well, Greol thought to herself but said nothing out loud. This was interesting, but could cause them problems down the road. There was a list of animals he'd managed to acquire under his brief stay with the guerillas- she didn't like the look of any of them. The one that worried her the most was the flea morph- all he would have to do was transform and wait for any of them to walk in and walk out.

A deep icy pit formed in the bottom of her stomach. "I want him in the tightest room we have. No extra windows, doors. One way in and out. "

"His brain activity is far above a normal pattern," Ree remarked, tracing a canine-like digit over the screen. "Not normal for a catatonic state, and yet, he is unresponsive to outside stimuli."

"He didn't move or speak when we found him or when I carried him in," Ash put in, raising an eyebrow. She was one of the rare Chee who kept her holo on nearly all the time.

"Maybe he was injured somehow," Greol said. "Can you take a look at his brain?"

Ree nodded to Ash, who entered the scanning room again to hook up the necessary equipment. The devices they used were more advanced than the human C.A.T. and M.R.I. machines used in hospitals and far more practical, being portable and less volatile. Greol noticed that Ash had already given David the Chee's version of an I.V. and was injecting the chemical that would help the machines take a picture of the inside of his body.

It looked like a simple L shaped stick that fit on into a slot on the bed with a half sphere that hung over David's head. The Aelar had nicknamed it the S.D. since they couldn't be bothered with the Chee's name for it. Ree typed in the commands on the computer, and after a few moments, the machine beeped.

"What do you see?"


	4. Chapter 4

He woke up in a hospital room. That's the first impression he got when he opened his eyes. His vision was blurry and all he really could see was white and shadowy lines that he supposed were where the walls met each other and the ceiling.

Then his eyes gained focus and he realized that the room only had one door and one window. The glass was dark- didn't most hospital rooms have some sort of window that opened up outside or something?

His arm felt funny. He sluggishly looked down and saw what he supposed was an I.V. sticking out of it. There was a dull ache in his head; he reached up and found that his hair had been shaved off. A few more inches and he found a line of stitches.

Panic crept its way into his stomach and up his throat. David struggled to sit up, but his head swam and the pain made his eyes water. He collapsed back onto the pillow, his breathing beginning to quicken.

There was a soft click and a man suddenly entered the room. The first thing he noticed was the color- the man was wearing blue jeans and a darker blue shirt with some sort of writing on it that David was too tired to actually read. Except for the clothes, the caucasion blonde hair and tan skin the man sported, and his green eyes, everything else in the room was white, including David's own sickly pale skin.

"We know who you are, David," the man said, coming to the side of the bed. David stared up at him dumbly, unable to process words that he could speak. "You've been here nearly a week and a half." He looked up to check the I.V. bag. "We found you lying unconscious and brought you here to care for you. You suffered an injury to your head that required surgery."

Now a question that he could ask made it to his mouth. "Are you a Controller? Don't lie to me. If you're going to invest me, you better do it now before I get stronger and kill you all." Big words, considering how horrible he felt right now. He felt broken, like he was a doll with all the limbs torn off and just arranged by his torso. And the pain in his head was the worst. But he didn't show it in the glare he hoped he was giving his visitor.

The man chuckled. "My name is Ree. And I am not a Controller though some of my comrades could technically be called that. Then again, androids can't be true Controllers, can they?"

"Androids?" David couldn't help but laugh, but it made his lungs and his head hurt. "What the hell is this, Star Trek?"

"No." Ree reached for the I.V. again, this time pulling out a syringe David hadn't noticed before. David frowned and tried to reach out before he could insert it.

"This is a sedative," Ree explained, injecting the contents of the needle directly into the tube in David's arm.

"I don't-" David wheezed, just as his head went fuzzy and his eyesight went black.


	5. Chapter 5

David tapped on the white wall repeatedly, staring at the invisible mark his finger made. All those scenes in movies where they showed some crazy person in a white padded room featured the crazy person tapping aimlessly on the wall. David had been unable to resist the temptation to try it out, but as crazy as he seemed to be going, even he found it boring.

He got up, kicking the playing cards he'd been using across the room. They had helped measure his time- he'd been here about one thousand, two hundred and eighty two solitaire games, three hundred thousand rounds of one man black jack and a total of four failed card castles. All those numbers were estimates really, since keeping track of how many times he'd sat down with the playing cards was completely boring and pointless.

David walked over to the door and tried the handle again. This was his- oh- five hundredth time trying to open the door? He began to bang his head against the door itself, another favorite past time.

"Six hundred and fifty three sounds like a more impressive number," he muttered to himself. He banged his head again- number six hundred and fifty four.

Now his skull began to ache. He ran a hand up the fading scar where he'd been cut up. Ree, his only visitor, had taken the stitches out long ago while he'd been asleep.

His eyes followed the edge of the door up and strayed along the wall a few inches to where the dark observation window was. It was tinted, had to be, since David couldn't see what was on the other side. He reached out, ran his fingers along the smooth glass, his other hand twisting the locked door handle again.

A tiny whine escaped his throat- it sounded more like a trapped animal than his own voice. He closed his eyes as the walls began to move in, like some booby trap in a mummy's tomb. He rubbed his temple against the door, his hand pulling on the handle- it was the only thing holding him up as his knees turned to jelly. His eyes opened but the walls were still moving, pressing closer. He shut them again, his breathing beginning to quicken as the panic set in. The walls should have stopped, they always stopped but not now- now they took up so much of the small space of the room and were eating up more- he pushed against the wall, trying to move it back into place but it wouldn't budge and soon he could feel the other wall pressing against his back, threatening to crush him and then the pressure became intense, sending pain through his lungs- he opened his mouth to scream-

There was a crash like shattering glass and the wall behind him disappeared- he fell onto his back, sliding across the floor into the bed. The only things his eyes saw were the dark glass on the floor around him and the broken handle of the door in his right hand as if he'd torn it off the door. There was a crunch and he could see Ree's feet coming towards him.

"I'll kill you all-" he threatened, struggling to sit up. His eyes had found the window- the glass was actually broken and he could see light beyond, a door that led somewhere else. "Stupid Yeerks, I won't let you-" he fought against Ree's iron grip, seeing the syringe in the hands. "No I don't want it! Get off me!" Then Ree was flying in the air, hitting the wall- David only paused a millisecond before half running, half sliding his way to the now open door. He pulled himself into the new room beyond, hearing only Ree protesting and struggling to stand up behind him.

David sprinted, pausing only at a juncture of halls. Which way to go? They all looked the same- then he heard a running tap against the floor like footsteps and he bolted down a random path. More junctures- he didn't pause this time and just kept moving, running left, right, up and backwards, trying to make sense of the halls but everything looked the same. It was all white doors and walls, windows that opened up to more white rooms like the one he'd been trapped in.

He tired quickly, the adrenaline beginning to run low. His lungs burned and his heart felt like it was three sizes two big but he kept moving, hearing Ree call his name as if from a mile away. He began to limp; one of his feet was cut from the glass and he hadn't noticed before. It stung, his head throbbed and soon one of his wrists joined in, pulsing in pain with each heartbeat. He hugged it to his chest; the rest of him began to shiver.

The sight hit him like a brick to the forehead- the wildly thrown open door, the dark glass littering the floor and he nearly fainted as he realized he was back where he'd started, probably been going around in circles. He fell against the nearest wall, turning to face it as a sob left his throat- trapped again, trapped forever, he'd never escape, never see his parents, never eat pizza, never-

Hands gently touched his biceps. He whirled and lashed out blindly, growling. "You'll never take me, Yeerks! You'll never ever, ever, Ever, EVER-" The hands tightened their hold and gave him a good shake.

-I am not a Controller.- The words entered his head like thought-speech and he stopped and stared at his captor. Ree didn't stare back at him, this was a stranger, a man who was middle aged, tanned from the sun, had bleached brown hair. He gazed at David with brown eyes that seemed more real than Ree's, the look on his face had far more feeling than Ree's did too, and the thought that maybe Ree hadn't been lying about being an android entered David's head.

The stranger was hunched down to David's height, his grip loosening a bit. –Breath a bit, that's it,- the thought-speech kept saying, and David felt his panic begin to ease. How this person- a human- was talking in thought-speech, David couldn't figure out, but it convinced him that he wasn't a Controller.

The man broke eye contact, looking over to his right. "We tried it your way," he said out loud in a deep, rasping voice. He had a slight accent, nearly unnoticeable but after so many hours, days- weeks? - in solitude except for Ree, David could hear it. "Now we try mine."

A voice answered in some sort of language that David couldn't understand. He allowed his eyes to finally travel in the direction that the stranger was looking in and saw two figures standing at the end of the hallway. One was Ree, the other was a woman who looked like she was from India except for her American clothes. Her dark hair was short and curled loose around her head, her caramel skin shone in the light of the hallway. She and Ree moved closer and David saw that her eyes were pale green. She also felt real like the man who still held David's shoulders, not fake like Ree did, and the difference was even more apparent as David looked at them both side by side.

The woman looked David up and down a few passes and sighed, visibly relaxing. "You're right. But on a few conditions." She had the same accent, just as slight. David couldn't place it- it didn't sound American and it didn't sound Indian.

"Later," the man said, standing up straight. Keeping a grip on David's shoulder, he began to lead him out of the hallway.


	6. Chapter 6

There was sunlight in David's eyes, but he couldn't bring himself to care. It made his face feel warm, even though it was summer and there was warmth to spare. A branch briefly sent a shadow over his face and he blinked sluggishly. Somewhere beyond his bedroom door, Oba was moving around, probably getting ready for work.

He had forgotten where he was again that morning when he'd woken up. David had rolled over in bed, mumbling something about not wanting to get up for school. But when he opened his eyes, he'd seen a pale cream wall instead of the sky blue of his room. Beneath him, the sheets and pillow cases were a plain wheat and green, instead of the Star Wars ones he'd grown up in. It didn't smell like home either, more like sand and ocean instead of his mother's favorite fabric softener and his father's cologne.

And then there was Oba in the back of his mind, a strong, steady presence had been always nearby for the past couple of weeks. Even though he'd originally introduced himself as Oscar, David couldn't convince himself to use the name. Oba had explained to him about the Aelar and it was hard to give a human name like Oscar to an alien, even one who looked so much like David's own species.

Oba reached out for David, giving him a once-over before actually leaving. This was only the third day he'd actually left David home alone, preferring in the beginning to stay nearby at all times. Truthfully, after so much time being by himself, David hadn't minded the constant attention.

It had been awkward at first since the Aelar were naturally all connected. When they spoke in thought-speech or even out loud, it was pretty common to also get an impression on the emotions behind the words. There were moments when Oba, who called himself a _tsi_ Aelar, would communicate with David in pure emotions, and half the time, he didn't even realize he was doing it.

David was pretty used to it by now, and he was even starting to be a bit grateful for it. He didn't always have to keep explaining how or why he felt a certain way, Oba just knew and wasn't afraid to let David know how he felt as well. It meant David didn't have to talk, and if he felt like crying, Oba didn't have to ask why.

Like now. Oba was mentally telling David that he was leaving and would be back later on, and that he expected David to keep the house clean and not interact with the tenants renting out the lower apartment. David agreed and since there was really no way to lie using the "emotional"-speech, Oba believed him and left.

David waited until he couldn't feel Oba anymore and got up out of bed. The apartment was quiet and sunny, the colors cool and soothing just like the room David had been given. It was also sparse and simple, containing just enough furniture and style to make it look like someone semi-normal lived here. At least Oba had a TV and a couch.

The first thing David did was hop into the shower. He turned the cold water on full blast, sighing with relief as it washed off all the sweat he'd accumulated last night while he'd been asleep, and didn't get out until his fingers were wrinkled and his brain felt like it was frozen. Beneath his feet, the summer tourists were yelling and laughing together, obviously enjoying their vacation.

He decided not to add to the noise as he got dressed- he'd been planning on watching TV like he had the day before. Instead, he left the TV off and flopped down on the couch. His body was hungry, but he couldn't muster up the urge to make himself something to eat.

But soon, he grabbed the remote anyway because his mind had begun to wander. And as always, the inevitable conclusion was his old life, and more specifically, the most recent situations he'd managed to get himself into. It was bad enough that he still had nightmares about morphing- he definitely didn't need to relive them while he was awake. TV helped, and Oba helped even better, teaching him the Aelar language and asking him all sorts of questions about Earth and the things he'd learned in school.

He flipped the channels, trying not to notice the sky out the window. To think, he'd once ridden the thermals, floated just below the clouds, just like most humans only dreamed- Darkness. The ocean crashing against the rocks as he foraged for food…

David got up off the couch and went into the kitchen, yanking open the cabinet over the sink. His hands shook- he could still feel the ever present fear of the rat, the hunger, the paranoia-

"Are you okay?"

The ceramic jug Oba stored his cooking utensils in fell off the counter behind David and shattered, making him immediately react by jumping off his feet and up onto the flat surface by the sink. He stared at the scattered mess just below his bare feet.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the voice said, in the doorway.

David looked up and saw a girl standing there. She was maybe a year younger than him, with dark coffee skin and hair that was just a shade darker. Her eyes were pale green and he suddenly realized she must be related to the woman he'd seen with Ree in the Chee infirmary.

"I'm Ali," she said, squatting down and picking up a few large pieces of pottery. "Oba said it might be okay if you leave the house, but not on your own, so I offered to come." She threw the pieces in the sink and bent down again to pick up some of the utensils.

"I don't have any shoes." David was privately surprised by how monotone his own voice sounded, but Ali seemed unaffected.

"That's okay. Half the summer people don't wear them either. You stay there while I find a broom." She tossed the utensils in the sink too and then walked out of the kitchen towards the closet where Oba kept the cleaning supplies.

"Aren't you afraid I'll run away?" David called after her, frowning to himself. He slid his way across the counter and managed to push off and land onto the carpet beyond the island that divided the kitchen and living room.

"Nah. Oba wouldn't have suggested you leave unless he was sure you wouldn't." Ali had returned with the broom and a dustpan and proceeded to sweep.

"That's so weird," David muttered, looking over the island at the mess. "I wasn't even near the jar…"

"You're safer here than anywhere else on the planet, really," Ali went on. "We know all the Controllers; most live further off the beach and hate mixing with all the tourists unless they can help it. And there are too many of us working the boardwalk to get taken by surprise by any that decide venturing among all the humans might be worth something." Ali shrugged. "Besides, I doubt any of them would recognize you now, even if one of them had a picture of you. You look a lot better than the last time I saw you, by the way."

"You saw me before?" he asked. She was nearly as tall as he was when she stood up straight and was wearing full length jeans even though it was hot. She did have a bikini top on instead of a shirt and sandals instead of shoes but David still could imagine how hot she must feel anyway. He was only in a t-shirt and long swimming trunks, and he could barely stand the thought of putting on socks and shoes.

"Pulled you out of the water myself. Okay, well, Ash did most of the heavy lifting. You were all half drowned and the tide was about to pull you back out. How did you end up on the beach anyway?" Ali threw the leftover utensils in the sink with the others and tossed the rest in the trash can by the fridge.

David hesitated. He remembered Rachel, and begging her to end it all. He remembered that they had both been crying, even if he'd been a rat at the time. And he remembered the Ellimist saying something about home and a family but now he knew he'd been lying. He wasn't home. Or with his family.

Ali was looking at him and the look on her face wasn't expectant. He realized (and was ashamed) that he'd somehow acted as though she was human, but she so obviously wasn't. She had a look of pity and concern on her face and he knew then that she was a_ tsi_ like Oba.

"I don't remember much," he mumbled anyway, even though he knew that she knew he was lying. To his relief, she didn't call him on it and instead simply put the broom away.

"Come on," she said when she came back and held out a hand, offering it for the taking.

He stared at it for a moment- the thought that this was a humongous crossroad fairly slapped him in the forehead. It was the borderline of trusting and not trusting, paranoia and safety, or was it? Would he really ever be safe? Could he ever really trust anyone ever again? He'd trusted Cassie, and she'd ended up betraying him, though he wasn't angry at her anymore. He'd thought about it a couple nights ago when he had no other distractions, and the peaceful conclusion that she'd done the right thing had settled in the place of his anger. She'd done what was best for her and her own- he'd tried to do the same thing after all.

That didn't mean everything was peachy. He had been warped, kidnapped, sent into hell and done horrible, horrible things under the premise of trying to do something justified. And yet here was this clean slate dropped into his lap and if he took it, used it, he never could go back to that place he'd been before. He'd never see his parents again, never have his room back- and he'd never see Rachel or the others again. Would he want to? If he could, would he do it all over again, just the same as he had done? A part of him still thought he'd only been doing the right things-

Ali took his hand suddenly and it seemed to snap his chaotic mind back in its place. Her own mind was there, communicating just like Oba did, and she told him that he didn't need to worry anymore- unless he wanted to. She blamed him for what had happened, but she also believed he could learn from the mistakes he'd made and change. There was work that could be done here to help those he'd left behind, much quieter work than those the Animorphs juggled with their lives. And there was also the feeling that she wanted to help him do it and would. He didn't even know her and she believed in that part of him that hadn't completely gone nuts yet.

"I'm a crazy person, you know," he said out loud, looking up at her face.

"I do know," she agreed. "I read your file. But crazy people get better, you know."

"I have a file?"

"Maybe." She led him past the island and to the front door. "How long has it been since you've had a cheeseburger?"


	7. Chapter 7

The ocean was cold despite the blistering heat of the sun overhead. David only waded in up to his ankles- he had no other clothes to change into and really didn't feel like walking around in wet shorts all day. He thought Ali felt the same way until she waded in with him. She was actually going to let herself wander around with wet, gritty jeans around her ankles?

"I am no stranger than you," she said, turning around to face him.

"I didn't say anything!" David protested.

She didn't open her mouth to respond, only poked him in the forehead with her index finger. Not hard, but he still rubbed the spot grumpily when her back was turned again.

"Oh my god! You are so weird!" called a voice from behind David. At first he thought it was Ali- a more polished Ali. A dryer Ali. With more practical clothes. And less hair. And a splash of lighter skin- a birthmark- over her right eye.

This new Ali look-alike put her hands on her hips, clad in shorts and a sleeveless tank-top, and said, "Not only did you wear those yesterday, but you got them all sandy and disgusting! I bet you didn't even take your shoes off!"

Ali frowned and picked up one foot. "Uh, they're sandals actually."

"You are so not my sister," the look-alike said, throwing her hands up in exsasperation.

David felt like he should say something but the two girls were already off, bickering with each other as if he didn't exist. The feeling passed, and instead he bent over to pick up a seashell before taking a few steps up to the dry part of the sand. He sat down, turning the shell between two fingers as he waited for the fight to be finished.

"We could be here forever, you know." He looked up just as another girl sat down next to him. She was maybe two years older than him, with impossibly long legs and a skinny frame. Her very short, black hair sat on top of her head in loose curls. One of her wrists was bandaged; she kept it rigid against her chest and managed to sit without using either of her arms.

As soon as she was settled, a little boy about six years old sat down close to her crossed legs. He looked like he could be related to Ali, but his skin was lighter and his features weren't as close matching as the two sister's. The look on his face was an unhappy one, and he visably pouted as he poked the sand with one finger.

"They fight all the time," the girl said. "It gets old."

"Mom yells when they fight too," the boy added, his lower lip sticking out further.

"I've heard twins are either inseperable or they completely hate each other," David said.

"They don't hate each other. In fact, if you try to berate the one for yelling at the other, they become this ajoined front that directs all that negative energy against you instead of themselves. And then, they can't understand why you thought they were fighting in the first place," the girl explained, raising an eyebrow over David's shoulder at the battle still going on. "Like I said, it gets old. Really quick. I'm Katie by the way. And this is Booger."

"No I'm not!" shrieked the boy, getting up and throwing himself at Katie. She laughed and began tickling him. He broke free and crawled out of reach before getting up and running to the Ali look-alike. Neither of the twins paused a beat.

"So if his name isn't Booger, than what is it?" David asked.

-That depends on who you ask,- said a voice in thought-speech. Outloud, Katie said, "It's Lars. Can you imagine being named Lars at his age?" She winked one chocolate brown eye at him. "Ali's sister's name is Soni. Alison, Alexandra, and then Lars. He doesn't really have a nickname though."

"Except Booger."

Katie smiled. "Only on special occasions."

-It's a lot easier to talk to you this way than with the others. Usually, it makes my head hurt.- Katie sighed and stretched out her legs before laying down on her back.

David laid down with her, staring at the clouds. He was almost as comfortable with Katie as Oba, which surprised him a little bit. It had taken him literally weeks to get used to his housemate, but he felt like Katie was an old friend he hadn't seen in a long time.

-So what's you're real name?- David asked, hoping that Katie would hear.

-It's Kyr. Simple, huh? I like it better than Katie, but we can't use it while we're out and about.-

David nodded. –Maybe it's because I'm used to thought-speech. I'm more receptive to it, I guess.-

-Could be.-

They fell into an easy silence. The sand was hot against his back, but he ignored it. The roar of the sea filled his ears, the sound of laughter made by what Ali called the 'summer people' cut the ocean's noise just a bit.

A gull cried overhead and David immediately sat up, startled. He sighed and hung his head, trying to calm his nerves. Would he always be this jumpy? Would he always hear the past in every little thing around him? He wished he could forget.

He hadn't realized Katie had sat up next to him until she'd put a hand on his shoulder. She put her chin on her knuckles and looked up at him with sympathy in her eyes.

-Then forget it,- she said, simply. "Pull me up," she said out loud.

David got up to his feet and obeyed, grabbing her good hand and giving it a good yank. Straight up, she was a few inches taller than him. Figured.

"Are you two finished yet?" Katie yelled, making both of the arguing girls look at her. Their faces went from surprise to pure poison in an instant, but she didn't flinch or pause. "I'm starving and I want food and I don't feel like waiting for all that drama to be finished." She waved a finger at them as if it accentuated her point and walked right past them towards the boardwalk. Little Lars broke away from his sister and followed, running up and grabbing the much taller girl's hand.

David tried to put his hands in his pockets before he forgot he had none. He shrugged and began walking, rubbing his stomach instead. Katie- Kyr- wasn't the only one who was hungry. Both twins let out synchronized grunts of annoyance and took up the rear.

Ali grabbed her sister's elbow, making her stop walking for a second. "Hey look!" she whispered before Soni could protest.

Together, they watched as David took a few jogging steps to catch up to Kyr and their little brother Lyhra. The six year old lifted a hand and took David's own. The young man looked surprised for an instant, but didn't protest as Lyhra began swinging it.

"It's happening already," Ali said quietly.

"How long do you think before he figures it out?" Soni asked.

"Not long, I guess. He broke a vase today," Ali answered.

"On purpose?"

"No, I walked in on him and kinda scared him. Slid right off the counter. He won't be able to explain that when it starts happening more often."

Soni frowned. "It happened before right? The window in the infirmary?"

"Yep. Broke that too. Oh gosh, all he ever does it break stuff!" Ali added, crossing her eyes at her twin. Soni giggled and then they both ran down the sand to catch up.


	8. Chapter 8

It was a cold night. David sat on the beach- it was sometime after midnight but he wasn't exactly sure. The wind whipped across his face, making the black clouds overhead swirl like dark rolls of cotton. The sea, already a deep brownish green in the daylight, reminded him of churning oil.

Most of the storm had passed earlier that night but a few die hard bolts of lightning still struck the water away from the shore. He knew he shouldn't be out in the open- there was always a chance a bolt would decide he was a better target- but there was no fear in him.

David looked down at his hands, but they were black against the white of his legs in the dim, faraway light. He moved them away, leaving streaks against the cleaner skin. His face turned back to the ocean, watching the waves crash endlessly against the sand.

He couldn't remember why he'd come out here. The sight of the storm's aftermath had erased any thought or feeling in him. It was as if all his memories had been swept away. He wasn't even sure where he was.

It was not long before he began to shiver. The air was chilly because of the wind and all the warmth was leaving his body. It all flowed out and left in the zephyrs, over the sea and into oblivion. He looked down again and saw that it was also running down into the sand, staining the grains black. Soon there would be nothing left but meat and bones, frozen and white.

A pair of feet entered his dim vision; he looked up and saw Oba towering over him, looking down with a sad, anxious look in his eye. David couldn't help it, he laughed but the sound wasn't at all happy. He was pulled up onto his feet and soon he found he couldn't stop laughing, even when it became hard to breathe. Oba took one of his wrists and wrapped it in a cloth, covering all the black. David's knees turned to jelly and he collapsed against Oba's chest. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kyr with his other wrist in her hands, pulling her own cloth tight, but David didn't feel it at all.

Oba scooped David up, and he finally stopped laughing, even though the sight of it must have been so funny. He let his head roll back, staring up at the sky as it moved overhead. Suddenly, it was blocked by Kyr, who leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead out of nowhere. He blinked, and the world suddenly felt clear, as if it had been hazy. He felt Oba moving over the sand, back towards the houses.

--------

He woke up to a peel of thunder and opened his eyes in time to be blinded by a flash of lightning out the window. David shivered and turned over to snuggle closer to Kyr before realizing that she was there. He frowned and tried to remember why.

He forced himself to look down at his arms and found them whole. Had it all been a dream? No. No, he had been out on the sand that night and Kyr had found him, brought him back to Oba's apartment. She'd offered to stay, as if she'd known he was beginning to feel a bit loopy again, as he had after Ali and her siblings had left. Were the tsi Aelar controlling his emotions? Making him feel stable? When none of them were around, sometimes he felt anxious.

Oba wasn't home. Hadn't been all night. What was keeping him away? David looked down at his wrists again, running a few fingers over the smooth surface of his skin. Kyr's breath was warm against his forehead and he felt his eyes droop.

The apartment door creaked open and then shut again. David didn't hear Oba move across the floor to the door of his room, but he did feel him in the back of his head where Oba always was when they were in the same place. He couldn't see Oba either; Kyr's shoulder was blocking the view.

-Sorry it's so late. Did I wake you? Are you okay?- The statement and questions came lumped in one sentence that David automatically translated to himself. Oba wasn't good at talking in thought-speech like Kyr and David himself, so his side of the conversations usually was garbled and half finished.

-Just a weird dream,- was all David replied, knowing that Oba received more than just the words. He didn't really want to elaborate. Now that Oba was actually here, he felt better and was ready to go back to sleep.

They both said their goodnights and Oba retreated to his own room. David relaxed and let his eyes close.


	9. Chapter 9

David was doing his best not to scream. He was lying on Oba's couch, staring at the TV even though the sound was muted. Behind him, the twins were sitting at the island in the kitchen, half arguing, half agonizing over the impending threat of school. It was starting to drive him even crazier than he already was.

Since the Aelar were trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, their lives had definite similarities to that of humans. All of the Aelar children who were considered underage by human standards went to school, and most of the adults had steady mainstream jobs. They lived in houses on the surface, leaving the underground base to the Chee and their dogs, and even socialized with their human neighbors.

When they were alone with each other and totally secure, that was when the Aelar were truly different. Since they had a longer life span, most Aelar under the age of 25 (in human years) were considered adolescents, so they were still privately tutored by their parents. The adults scorned TV (which he couldn't understand at all) and had an intense interest in the history of Earth, especially in the complexities of its music and language.

Because of their heightened senses and abilities, they were less inclined to talk out loud to each other. Compared to the Aelar, even basic human communication was complicated and inefficient; that was how Oba had described it but David was starting to agree. He had never noticed how many words humans wasted on trying to convey their feelings on simple things like "I love you" or "I want to be alone right now."

Most Aelar communicated through tsi abilities. A simple look could connect two Aelar and convey more things emotionally than any number of human words ever could. There were times when David thought Oba could see into his very soul. He would have considered it an invasion of privacy but the link worked both ways, even though he had no Aelar abilities. There were times when David knew things about Oba that he knew he shouldn't know.

On any day, two teenage girls arguing near him would have been annoying, but after living with Oba, hearing the twins go on and on was becoming downright excruciating. His brain felt like it was about to explode from the sound. And it wasn't only him. Lyhra was on the couch with David, his head on David's knees. Every once and awhile, the boy would lift his head. His eyes would drift up towards the back of the couch and then briefly meet David's before his head went back to his former place. David didn't need any Aelar powers to see that the boy was troubled by volume of his sisters' discussion.

- He doesn't like loud noises in general,- Kyr pointed out in David's mind. -Tell him that I'm going to be over there soon.-

-Where are you anyway?- David asked. He was always surprised when Kyr chimed in from somewhere that wasn't where David was.

-At Rivnia's house,- Kyr answered. -I had a lesson today.-

-Who is Rivnia?-

-My onii. She's the oldest Aelar on Earth.-

David had no clue what an onii was but he was suddenly struck by an idea.

-Why don't we come and meet you? Does she live far? Can we walk there?- David asked.

There was a pause and then Kyr answered, -She lives a few blocks up and over. Lyhra knows the way. She says she wants to meet you. Don't worry about the twins.-

Well, that part was kind of cryptic but David wasn't going to argue. He lifted a hand and turned off the TV with the remote. Lyhra shifted to look up at him.

"Wanna go to Rivnia's house? Kyr says you know the way," David asked.

Lyhra nodded and raised himself up to let David move. He got up and stretched, running a hand through his short hair. For a moment, he contemplated finding his sandals but gave up on the idea. They were probably in his bedroom and he was too lazy to go get them. He turned and saw that Lyhra was putting his own shoes on.

David looked back at the twins and sighed. He wondered if they would even notice them leaving. Would the girls even hear him if he said goodbye? A tiny hand slipped into one of his own and he looked down to see Lyhra looking at his sisters. Without a word, David led Lyhra to the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" David turned and saw that both girls were looking at him, although he was pretty sure Ali was the one who had spoken since Soni had her back to the door.

"Kyr says- uhh, Rivnia?- wants to meet me," he answered.

For a moment, both girls had faraway looks on their faces, which David supposed meant that they were talking to someone. Then they both blinked, looked at each other and Soni said," We'll pick up our brother later." David couldn't see Soni's face but Ali didn't look happy.

* * *

It was windy. It was always windy near the ocean, but today was an exception. There was a storm brewing over the ocean- David could see the dark clouds looming from in between two houses. Lyhra huddled against him, and finally David picked him up and tucked him on one hip.

An ominous rumble sounded overhead, making David look up again. His mouth dropped open when he realized that the dark clouds had advanced significantly closer in the few seconds he'd looked away to pick Lyhra up. The temperature dropped and he realized as he saw a flash of lightning that it was going to rain.

A wave of panic passed through him and he asked, "Are we close to Rivnia's house yet?"

Lyhra's face was buried in David's shoulder, so his reply " 's te one wif bufrflies ad stff" was a bit muffled. David tore his eyes away from the storm and looked up and down the street. No butterflies jumped out at him, so he began to walk.

Another boom overhead made him jump (that was definitely closer) and he picked up his pace. The temperature began to drop noticeably. David paused again, looked around, and finally spotted a house with metal butterflies in the lawn.

Lightning flashed again and was almost immediately followed by the answering thunder. David didn't so much as hear Lyhra's whimper as feel it in the crook of his shoulder; another wave of panic passed through him and the boy clung to David even tighter than before. He launched himself off the curb and into the street, sprinting his way towards the house with all the butterflies on the lawn.

* * *

Kyr tapped her spoon against her mug. She looked up briefly at the old woman who sat across the counter, but Rivnia was concentrating on her own ice cream. She was troubled by her onii's eagerness to meet David; Rivnia usually had as little contact with humans as she could.

She watched as the older Aelar's fingers slowly brought her spoon to her mouth. Aside from the Chee of course, Rivnia was the oldest humanoid on Earth, and she was starting to show it. Her frame had been getting thinner in the past few years, especially in her limbs. Her skin, though darker than normal because of the summer, had begun to look stretched. Kyr was not used to seeing her onii so fragile, especially since she was well aware that Rivnia's mind did not suffer as her body did.

Rivnia's sharp blue eyes met hers and held. Kyr fought to look away, but it was against her very nature. Oniis were not someone an Aelar like Kyr rebelled against. Oniis were followed. They were trusted.

And those in their care didn't need to worry about them. That's what Rivnia's look said to Kyr. That's what the older Aelar's mind said to Kyr's. That's all—

The door opened and slammed shut with a loud bang. Kyr jerked so hard at the sound of it that she nearly fell out of her chair, but Rivnia simply stirred her ice cream a little bit more.

A little girl about the age of ten stuck her head into the room and said, "What was that?"

"It was just Lyhra and Kyr's friend David. Why don't you and Kyr go show them in, Morrin," Rivnia answered. "Lyhra is a bit frightened of the storm."

Morrin stepped into the room just as Kyr lowered herself off her stool. Kyr offered her a hand and it was shyly taken. Morrin was always shy around strangers, but it would pass. Especially when she saw how well the two boys got along.

Together, both girls left the kitchen and made their way towards the front door.


	10. Chapter 10

David leaned his back against the door, breathing hard for a moment. Lyhra wriggled in his arms, settling himself more securely against David. Thunder cracked overhead again, and he jerked away from the door in response. Lyhra started too, and buried his face in David's shoulder again.

He hadn't been this frightened of a thunderstorm in years. Actually, he was pretty sure he'd never been this frightened of a thunderstorm. Except when he'd been a _nothlit_. He'd been afraid of everything as a _nothlit_.

A shiver passed through him and he focused his attentions on the house before his mind could go too far back. This wasn't a twin or a condo like the one he shared with Oba; this was a regular house like the ones he was used to living in. He was looking into a living room of sorts with a staircase that led up to the second floor along the left hand wall. There was a doorway almost in front of him that led further into the first floor. All in all, it looked a bit sparse in David's human opinion, but well lived in. The sheer size of the place was surprising. It was definitely bigger than it looked.

"Hey."

David turned his head and saw Kyr was standing in the doorway. Beside her was a girl who looked like she was about ten, halfway hidden by the older girl's hip. Her hair was a mass of red curls that was barely pulled back from her face. Of her tanned face, David could only see one, really wide, blue eye.

_Wow_, he thought. _I guess Aelar come in all kinds_. Like humans.

Kyr half turned to the girl using her as a barrier and said, "Morrin, this is David. David, this is Morrin. She's called Martha at school."

"Hey," David replied, suddenly shy himself.

"Rivnia's in the kitchen. Morrin, why don't you take Lyhra to the playroom?" Kyr asked. Without lifting it, Lyhra shook his head in David's shoulder. Before he could think about what he was doing, David tightened his arms around him.

"Sweetie, you're projecting on David," Kyr said to the six year old. "I know the storm makes you scared, but you're making David scared too."

Was that why the thunder was making him so nervous? Because Lyhra was nervous?

"It's ok," David said quietly. "I'll hang onto him. It's not that bad."

Kyr frowned, obviously worried, but she only said, "Come on. Rivnia's got ice cream."

David followed her through a dining room and into a kitchen. There was an elderly woman sitting at the island, stirring her ice cream in a coffee mug. She was thin, that senior citizen looking thin, with long salt and pepper hair that hung over one shoulder in a thick braid. There was a serene, aged look about her that made her seem harmless.

The feeling he got as he stood in the doorframe warned David that she was anything but. It was like a sudden weight had descended upon him and he knew without being told that Rivnia was checking him out. She was definitely a _tsi_, a very powerful one too, and as her mind invaded his, he felt absolutely paralyzed.

"Do you like chocolate or vanilla?" Rivnia asked, her voice lower and smoother than David was expecting. She also spoke in Aelar and David realized that they had all been talking in Aelar since he'd arrived, even himself.

"I'm sorry?" he asked. His brain had shut down.

Lyhra wriggled and David felt his arms let go. The boy slid down to the ground and reached for a doorknob that David hadn't seen to his right. He opened the door, revealing a staircase leading down into the basement. Morrin stepped around Kyr and took Lyhra's hand, pulling him down the stairs.

David's legs twitched as Lyhra pulled the door shut behind him. Where the hell were they going? The fear of the storm was gone, replaced by- what? Why did he feel like he didn't want Lyhra out of his sight?

Something made him look back at Rivnia. It wasn't a sound really, but something called his attention. The elder Aelar was looking directly at him, her eyes narrowed. As their gazes met, her chin lifted slightly. The pressure in his mind heightened.

Then it was gone. A split second later. David blinked and scratched his head, momentarily confused.

"Are you okay?"

David looked over at Kyr. The look on her face was completely baffled and almost scared. He could tell that she was completely in the dark about what had just happened. Whatever had just happened.

"Yea. Yea, I'm okay," David said. His lazy mind watched his hand reach out and touch her elbow. The touch seemed to relax her, but it also sent a chill up his spine. It was unlike him. All of this was unlike him. What the hell was going on?

"It's the influence of the _onsha_," Rivnia said quietly. Both of them looked at her. "Have a seat David."

David obeyed. Now that the pressure was gone, she was far less intimidating. And yet, she was still there in the back of his mind, just like Oba.

"I'm guessing vanilla," Rivnia said. Now there was a twinkle in her eye. "We also have hot fudge somewhere-"

"I'll get it, _onii_," said Kyr softly.

"And the sprinkles, dear," Rivnia added. "Has Kyr told you what type of Aelar she is yet?"

David frowned. "I assumed she was a _psen_. She likes to practice thought-speech with me."

"Kyr is a bit more special than that," Rivnia said with a smile. "As are everyone in this house. There are two more of us, but neither of them are here right now."

"An _onsha_?" David asked.

Rivnia's smile grew wider and she shook her head. "Not quite. Kyr and I what the Aelar call _illilthyar_." Kyr put a jar of hot fudge and a smaller jar of multicolored sprinkles on the counter, and slid into a seat between them. Rivnia took one her hands in both of her own.

"_Illilthyar_ are born without the ability to properly develop our gifts," Rivnia explained softly. "The glands and the part of our brain responsible for our development and control are dysfunctional to the point where we require outside assistance to correct the problem."

"But you- you, Kyr, and Lyhra- you all have gifts," David said slowly.

"With proper guidance and treatment, we can develop our gifts, yes," Rivnia answered. "But it's complicated."

"So what's an _onsha_?" David asked, not sure he was properly understanding.

"It means 'one formed from many'," answered Kyr. "It's sort of like a pack or a hive of _illilthyar_."

"It is evolution's way of helping us cope with developmental issues," Rivnia said, taking over again. "When _illilthyar_ develop their gifts, it can be an emotionally traumatizing process, as well as a physically painful one. The _onsha_ greatly reduces the stress _illilthyar_ go through when they enter their _niih_."

"_Niih_ is what we call the process of developing our gifts. _Onshas_ are like a support group, except you don't leave them and go back to your family afterward," Kyr clarified.

"_Illilthyar_ in an _onsha_ form deeper connections that normal Aelar," Rivnia went on. "It makes us gravitate towards each other. That is what you felt when you came in; the influence of the deep bonds of our _onsha_."

They both paused, as if allowing it to sink in. No wonder Kyr liked to practice her abilities with him, even though it should be natural to her by now. And it did seem to explain the feeling he'd gotten once he'd entered the house.

"And you're the… _onsha_ leader?" he asked, breaking the silence.

Rivnia smiled. "The _onii_, yes. The strongest mind is always _onii_. It is a bit primitive, the _onsha_, especially in times of crisis. _Illilthyar_ look to their onii for leadership, to solve conflicts and to protect. I have seen documentaries of animals on your planet that travel in groups like _onsha_, and in our most stressed, we are not much different from them. Wolves especially; during the attack on our planet, our _onsha's_ behavior was very similar to a wolf pack's behavior. My _onii_ led us to safety, and I remember us all sleeping in one lump until the danger had passed." Rivnia's eyes were suddenly far away, and a feeling of intense sadness passed over David.

"The _onsha_ is one of the reasons I wanted to meet you, David. Both Kyr and Lyhra are forming bonds with you, as is natural for _illilthyar_. Especially Lyhra, his gifts are coming more smoothly and naturally to him than they did to Kyr, and at a younger age. He does not often realize what he is doing, and I wanted to make sure you understood what was happening."

"That's possible even though I'm human?" David asked.

"It seems so," said Rivnia. "There are times when you are with both Kyr and Lyhra that I can feel you as if you were one of mine. And you, David, are not exactly normal, are you?"

Well that was certainly true. David tried not to make a face.

"You never actually answered my question though. Do you prefer vanilla or chocolate?"

David blinked. "Erm, neither. I mean," he shook his head, "I'm just not really in the mood for ice cream. Thanks though."

"Why don't you two go down and play with Morrin and Lyhra? There's a TV and a DVD player if you would like to watch a movie," said Rivnia. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait until another day to meet Yursin and Enner."

"Do you need help with anything, _onii_?" Kyr asked, pushing gently away from the counter.

"No dear, go on."

David got up from his chair and followed Kyr to the basement door and down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, he found himself in a finished basement, complete with a carpet, new walls, and a little play area. Morrin and Lyhra were playing with legos in the corner.

Kyr immediately went to a couch that was set up in front of a TV and a bookcase on the opposite wall and flopped down. David watched Lyhra and Morrin play for a moment, then went over and lowered himself on one of the couch's arms.

"So is Rivnia your grandmother or something?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No, not of us in the _onsha_ are related. _Illilthyar_ can't have children. The genetic marker for being an _illilthyar_ can run in families, but there are no Aelar directly descended from _illilthyar_ ancestors. You can ask Oba about it if you want to know more," Kyr said.

"Oba? Is he an _illilthyar_?"

"No, but my mom told me that he had a lot of _illilthyar _relatives. I think his sister was an _illilthyar_ too. He's a triplet you know."

"Really?"

"Yea. He's the oldest out of two boys and a girl. Multiple births like twins and triplets are really rare, and it increases the chance of one or all of the babies being an_ illilthyar_. Ali and Soni's mom is really lucky because neither of them are. I guess it all got transferred to Lyhra."

David looked over at Lyhra, who had stopped playing and was looking at the ceiling. It took David a moment to realize why; the storm was still raging overhead. He'd somehow tuned out the thunder and the rain, but Lyhra obviously hadn't.

"Come on, let's watch _Toy Story_ or something happy," Kyr said. As David slid down onto the couch, Lyhra got up from his legos. He ran to David and climbed up into his lap. Kyr put the DVD in and grabbed the remote, settling herself back down on the couch. Morrin curled herself up against the older girl's hip.

Then they watched movies until the storm was over.


	11. Chapter 11

David soon found himself spending a lot time at Rivnia's house, and slowly his comprehension of exactly what an onsha was grew. Not only did the onii seem to welcome him when he appeared on her doorstep, she also seemed concerned when he stayed away for too long. He got into the habit of visiting her every day, even if Kyr or the others weren't with him.

It didn't take him long to find his spot in the house. Once he found the courage to do it, he explored the place from top to bottom, and he realized that he had been right about the house being bigger on the inside than the outside. There were at least two big bedrooms and a third smaller one down the hall and adjacent to the bathroom on the second floor, a tiny bathroom behind the kitchen, and another room in the basement.

He also discovered that there was a third floor attic. It wasn't as cluttered as a normal human attic would be (David was getting the impression that Aelar were not very material people) but there were a few pieces of discarded furniture: a couch, a couple of chairs and an old beat up desk. The couch cushions proved to fold out into a makeshift bed, and before very long, he found himself going up there to escape when he felt like he needed to be alone.

It wasn't until the first night he had actually slept over in the room that Rivnia confronted David about the attic room, and even then it wasn't really a confrontation at all. All she did was remind him to keep it clean and bring his dirty clothes down every once and awhile. He wondered how often she expected he would be staying in the attic.

David also eventually met Yursin and Enner, who were what Rivnia called surcha, or an illilthyar pair. They had formed a profound bond that was deeply based in love and companionship. Yursin was the one who explained that illilthyar were not only sterile, but also had no sex drive at all, which meant that he and Enner did not and had never had sex, and never would. That didn't mean that they were not in love, but the physical part was not a component of their union. Although David had never heard of anything like it, something about their pairing must have been working for them, because he found out later that Yursin and Enner had been surcha for almost 50 human years. They had survived the attack on Ishn together and had made it safely to Earth together.

Watching them made David a little bit sad. They were more affectionate and more intimately connected than his parents had been for a long time.

That didn't mean that he didn't like them. Enner was one of the sweetest women he had ever met, and Yursin had an air about him that made David feel like he could talk to him about anything. And if Rivnia was like the grandmother in the onsha, they were definitely the favorite aunt and uncle. He was wary of them though. In a way, they both reminded him of Cassie, and he had learned the hard way to be wary of Cassie.

The onsha itself was less like a group and more like how Kyr had described it; a pack mind or hive mind. David slowly began to realize that the way the bonds in an onsha worked was to slowly acclimate the younger illilthyar to their abilities. It lessened the shock when they suddenly kicked in, through the process called niih. According to Yursin, the deep bonds made it seem like the younger and "unawakened" illilthyar had already been using tsi and psen abilities, even though it been the elders all along. It was akin to David and Kyr practicing thought-speech together- David was used to thought-speech, and it made him more receptive than Morrin and Lyhra.

It was not so simple with those who had kyns abilities. Through the onsha, David learned that it was never simple for any Aelar who had kyns abilities. If only a quarter of all Aelar were born a kyns, then nearly half of that quarter were born illilthyar. The telekinetic abilities of the kyns were more stressful than that of the tsi or psen, and caused problems even for those who were born normal.

And the elders of the onsha could not use their own kyns abilities to help the younger illilthyar adjust. All they could do was hope that the hormones would eventually balance themselves out and leave a limited amount of damage in their wake. The lucky ones only suffered from disorders like depression. The unlucky ones- Rivnia would not speak of them but David could tell that it was bad.

But that was why the Aelar had never evolved out of needing the onshas. The onsha mentality greatly lessoned the effects of the niih, even for a kyns illilthyar. Like a pack-mind, the onsha had a leader, the onii, but like a hive-mind, that onii's mind could overwhelm and direct the lower members' minds in times of crisis and instability. Onii were not chosen- their minds just instinctively took on the role.

Yursin was the one who explained this all to David, his mind gently filling in with bits and pieces of emotional experience and memories. If David hadn't spent so much time with Oba already, it might have confused him; but he had and it was becoming more natural, this dual method of communication. Enner half jokingly commented that perhaps humans were already predisposed to Aelar-like abilities, that they were already evolving along the same lines as the Aelar once had. What that implied, David didn't even want to think about.

The days started getting longer and colder, and David began spending even more time with Oba than before. The tourists were leaving, business was slowing, and Oba no longer had to run off early in the morning and come home late at night. Whereas Rivnia and the onsha were content to let David about on his own business, Oba continued teaching him about Aelar culture and history. He had long ago stopped teaching David the actual language the Aelar spoke- he was picking it up quicker from Kyr and Oba's mind than from Oba actually sitting down to teach him. Any words that they spoke that David didn't recognize by sound he could easily deduce by the undertones he got from Kyr's thought-speech or Oba's tsi.

The Aelar were not much older than the human race in terms of civilization; in fact they suspected that they were actually younger. The Aelar, however, were not as diverse in culture as humans were, and so their development in terms of science and technology had not been hindered by years of war and religious oppression. Though Oba never actually said it, David soon realized that the reason why the Aelar and the Chee got along so well was because their technologies were more advanced than anyone else in this part of the galaxy, including the Andalites and the Yeerks. That was why the Chee had taken them in, and that was why the Aelar followed their rules. They just understood each other that way.

Oba did teach him however that despite the obvious technological differences, humans and Aelar were somewhat similar. The Aelar had made drastic mistakes on their way too, including nearly ruining their home planet Ishn just as humans seemed to be doing with Earth. Their attempts to colonize other planets had also ended badly when they had brought the Hersht to their door. And Oba also admitted sadly that the Aelar had been arrogant when faced with the Hersht threat. They were the technologically superior, but they had underestimated the Hersht's determination and experience- the Hersht had been colonizing planets for much longer than the Aelar. Sure the Hersht had resources and the numbers to spare, but it was that haughtiness that really had done the Aelar in.

That was Oba believed, and David could see- feel- that he believed it bitterly. There was a deep hint of "I told you so!" amongst a great bit of smoldering anger when Oba very briefly spoke of the war that had stranded them on Earth. He moved onto a different topic, and David decided not to ask him about it. Not until later anyway.

Oba also taught him about the small little Chee/Aelar colony in which they lived hidden among humans. David learned people's names and saw brief pictures of their faces, even though he had never seen anyone but Ali's family and the onsha. Oba explained that not many of them knew about David and so they had never come around to get a look at him, although he warned that if the Aelar shared anything with humans, it was curiosity, and once they found out he was here, they'd all want to pick his brain. David would be introduced slowly and hopefully that would control the influx.

It almost sounded as if Oba thought that David would be with them for a long time. On the one hand, David could see why. He had a past, and not a nice one, and he probably did deserve to be in a prison somewhere. He guessed that this was the Chee and Aelar's version of a prison, and he should probably be grateful that he had landed in the care of two alien cultures that abhorred capital punishment as much as humans still loved it.

And yet it was a prison. David already was beginning to feel antsy and trapped. He knew he'd never escape, not for long, not with the Aelar being what they were. The Ellimist could not have chosen a better prison for him. Even being a nothlit hadn't stopped David for long. His life was still over. He was still alive but the choices he made from now on would be scrutinized and corrected. And as much as David felt safe among the Chee, being the extreme pacifists as they were, he knew that he could not say the same about the Aelar. They didn't want to kill him, he knew that much, but they could and they would if they needed to.

He had no idea just how right he would turn out to be.


End file.
